If It Was Easy
by Inexhaustible Source of Magic
Summary: Abigail runs cross country and Daniel plays in the band. They're in love but the two teams are pitted against each other.  When one prank goes too far, will the two prevail? Or will someone's reed get a little too cracked.
1. Chapter 1

I felt my sneakers hit the hot asphalt as me and the rest of the team trudged our way out of the school parking lot. I'd barely had them a week and they were already worn in. My friend Amy pulled her black hair back into a hasty pony tail. "God, does it ever get below ninety degrees out here?"

"Oh, it does. It's the humidity you gotta look out for," Justin Parking said, jumping into stride beside us. "These weeks are just the hot ones. Wait till October. You'll be longing for the sun."

"I doubt that," Amy said, smiling. Justin smiled back, casting his bright blue eyes down at his own shoes.

He lengthened his stride and began to catch up with the rest of the boy's team, who usually ran ahead of us by a mile or so. Once he had, Amy watched his figure with large doe eyes. I laughed. "What?" She cried, still smiling.

"You're so into each other!" I cried. "Why don't you just admit it and go on a date before school starts."

"I just don't think he's into me like that. He's…A-team. I'm barely junior varsity."

I snorted. "That has nothing to do with it! Trust me! Ask. Him. Out!"

At that moment, we ran around the corner of the school. We had a long windy road that passed behind our school, running from the main parking lot in the front and then into a small, more secluded parking lot. It looked right over the football field and baseball diamond. We didn't have much at our school and it looked like we had more teams then we did. Our school barely had more than 3,000 students in it and we hadn't had a baseball team in two years. Our football team sucked but that didn't stop the whole school from supporting them.

The two biggest teams in our school were the cross country running team, which is what I was on. I'd been on it since freshman year, before it was so huge and important. However, I worked hard and was now one of the higher standing junior varsity runners. Our varsity teams were almost a shoe in for states this year.

The second biggest team was…

"HEY RUNNERS!" We all stopped in our tracks, our hearts beating against our chests from the sudden stop and the exclamation. Standing in the small parking lot was a group of around thirty kids. They were all dressed in baggy t-shirts and shorts. Every single one of their t-shirts was the same and all the shorts were black with a white stripe down the side. Black flip- flops were on their feet. The shirts all were bright blue and white (our school's colors) with black letters over the back. MARCHING BAND, they said, screaming out to the world.

"Band geeks," Justin cried, walking over to them. One of the taller band members walked over to meet him halfway, a smirk plastered on his tan face, his saxophone bouncing with his stride on his neck strap.

"What are ya'll doin' back here?" The saxophonist, named Carter, asked, still smirking at our skinny figures. He, himself, was a senior and very well built in the chest and arms. Leather bracelets outlined his wrists and a silver snake ring ran around his middle finger.

"Only way out to the trails," Justin retorted, folding his hands over his own rather skinny chest.

"Well then, get on your way and get of ours!" Carter cried, his smirk folding into a frown.

I looked over at Amy, who was biting her lip in concentration. The other band members were starting to crowd behind Carter. I searched the faces and finally found the one I wanted. We barely met eyes for a second but it was enough to get the message across.

"What makes you think you can boss us around?" Michael, a smaller blond boy asked.

"Well, if you actually looked at us…" Carter said, holding out his well muscled arms and gesturing to the other band members, who weren't that bad either.

"You'd have to catch us first!" Gabe called.

"If you actually had the balls to fight us, we'd win faster than you can run your little race!" Kyle, a flutist, said.

"Big words for a guy playing a girl's instrument!" Gabe called back.

"Yah," Michael agreed. "I've heard your mom hit higher notes in the shower!"

All hell broke loss. Kyle ran at us and Michael didn't argue. They charged at each other. Carter ran at Justin, throwing him to the ground. Amy screamed and started to run over to them but I stopped her. "No!" I hissed. She stared at me with her big brown eyes but I didn't let her out of my grip.

"Guys! Let's go!" Gabe was standing above the crowd and began to move toward the trails that led to the woods. Taking one last look at the marching band, we gathered together and ran back into the woods to finish our warm up.

"That was way too close today!" Daniel muttered, pulling me by my waist closer to him. We were lying on my bed, the only light coming from the single lamp sitting on my bedside table. My mom and dad got divorced around two years ago and I stayed with my mom now. She was a nurse and had the night shift at the local hospital. Every night she left at seven and got home the next morning around seven. It. Was. Great!

Daniel leaned over and kissed my cheek. "You sound so concerned," I said, laughing as he hand ran its way down my side.

"Yah, I know. But…I'm just worried," he sat up and leaned against the wall. "You should've heard Carter after you guys left. Some of the ninth graders had to cover their ears."

"I know, we could hear him."

He laughed. Daniel was in the band as well, being the next best saxophonist after Carter. We'd been dating for around a year. We couldn't tell anyone though. If we did, it would probably be the last straw in our teams' feud. So we kept our romantic feelings quiet. However, hard it was.

After a moment of silence, Daniel sighed. "What are we gonna do?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, nuzzling into his neck.

"What are we gonna do if there's an even bigger fight. I don't wanna hurt you or Amy or anyone."

I nodded. "And it'll look way to suspicious if neither of us join the fight. They might find out about…us."

Daniel smiled and intertwined our fingers. I pulled his hand up to my lips and kissed his fingers. "I should probably get some sleep." I whispered into his ear.

He laughed. "Falling asleep at ten o'clock in August. Weird much?"

"I have to be a school at nine for practice!" I argued, laughing.

He nodded. "I know, I know. I'm pretty tired too."

"You'll be gone before Mom comes back, right?" I asked, always nervous.

"I always am," he assured me.

And with that, he leaned over and pulled the chain on my lamp, enveloping my room in darkness and flirtatious giggles.


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't believe it!" Amy cried, jumping up and down in front of my mirror.

"Well, you better believe it and calm down," I cried, dragging her down to sit on my bed. "Now, which earrings do you think Justin would like?" I put up two different types to her ears and she laughed, pushing my hands away.

"Come on, Abby!" She cried. "It's just a movie date. Do you really think he'll be looking at my earrings?"

"Yah, you're right. I just can't get over that he really asked you out!" I exclaimed, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, yah," she mused sarcastically. "It was really romantic, wasn't it? 'Hey, Amy, I think you're shoe laces are cute. Wanna go to the movies tonight?'" I laughed at her cheesy imitations of Justin. "Now we just need to get you a boyfriend," she declared, playing with a strand of my hair.

My heart skipped a beat but I tried to keep a straight face. "Oh no. I'm fine on my own. Besides, I don't like anybody right now."

"Oh, sure. Let's just leave it at that," Amy said, rolling her eyes. She took a sip of the water I'd offered her when she first got to my house. "We better go. He said he'd meet us there." I nodded and pulled my jacket off its hook.

We were sitting on one of the many benches that were sat up around the outside of the movie theater. I pulled my sleeve up and glanced at my watch. Amy began to pace back and forth in front of me. Justin was nearly ten minutes late. "God, where is he?" Amy cried, sitting back down with a huff.

"Maybe there's traffic," I said, though I didn't believe it. I knew Justin lived in the area because we had a pasta dinner last year at his house. Normally it didn't take more than five minutes to get from his neighborhood to the multiplex.

Suddenly, I saw two figures that made my insides grown in trepidation. "Crap," I muttered, standing up automatically.

"What?" Amy said, lifting her head from its perch in her hands. "Do you see him?"

I groaned and began to walk into the theater. However, that just made it worse. Justin shot up from his relaxed stance, leaning against the wall. "Where've you been? I've been waiting here for an hour!" He walked over to us and made to hug Amy but retracted his arms at the last second.

"More like ten minutes. I thought we'd meet you outside," she said, blushing at his impulse.

"Okay, let's go. We need to go! Let's go see the movie!" I said, nearly pushing them down the hallway.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Amy asked, smoothing back the here I'd upset with my hurried gestures.

"No reason. The movies just about to start. Uhh…" I stopped, thinking for a second. "Why don't you two go ahead and get seats and I'll get some snacks. Ok?"

I didn't wait for their response. I watched their retreating figures and quickly walked back to the snack bar. Standing to the side, I slipped my phone out of my back jean pocket and quickly composed a text. "Danny! XC alert! Meet me in snack line ASAP!"

I watched out of the corner of my eye to see my secret boyfriend pull out his phone and indiscreetly begin to look around for me. I rolled my eyes but saw him exchange a few words with Carter. Carter nodded and walked down the hall to his movie. I could only pray they weren't seeing the same one as we were.

I got in line and Daniel did the same, timing the moment so we were standing right next to each other. "So, why didn't you tell me you were going to the movies with Carter?" I asked, not looking at him.

"Because I thought you were just gonna hang out with Amy tonight," he retorted, gritting his teeth.

"I am. But she got asked out and he wanted to know if I wanted to go with them," I explained.

"What? Like a…double date?" Daniel cried, turning to look at me.

"No!" I said, grabbing his hand. "I would never agree to that. We're dating…remember?" I ran my finger through a strand of his blonde hair. He smiled.

"I know, I know," he said and returned to subject at hand. "But, why didn't you text me when your plans changed?"

"I tried! But you had band camp all day!"

"What can I say? It's Hell week."

I laughed slightly and by that time we were at the front of the line. "Small twizzlers and slushy." We said in unison.

The red head behind the counter smiled and got our order. "Why are you here with Carter?" I asked, turning to face him.

"He just wanted to hang out. We're friends now. He's cool," Daniel explained.

I snorted and smiled. "He sounds charming."

"You know what I mean!" He said, walking over to the side counter to grab straws. So, what movie are you guys seeing?" He asked, taking a sip of his slushy, turning his lips a cherry red.

"Fade to Grey," I said, yanking a twizzlers from its package. "The romance about two cops or something."

"It's a romance? Crap, Carter's gonna be pissed." Daniel muttered.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! We're seeing the same film?" I said, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

"Looks like we are," Danny said, stopping and looking up at the sign above the door. He then pulled the door handle and opened it for me. "Shall we?"

I sighed and walked through the thresh hold. "Buck up, here we go."

It wasn't long before we heard the arguing. We walked around the corner of the dark corridor. Justin was standing in the middle of the packed theater, six empty seats around him. Amy was standing beside him. "Justin, please. We can just sit beside each other. It's okay," she argued, trying to force him to sit down.

"It's not okay!" Justin exclaimed, shaking Amy off his sleeve. She sat down, her lip jutting out in a pout. I knew they would see us soon so I pulled an irritated look over my face. I tromped the stairs and Daniel followed me, with what I could hope was his own annoyed face.

"I guess you realized who was here," I muttered sitting down in one of the middle seats.

"Great timing," Amy muttered, angrily.

"Why don't you sticks just sit down and stop causing trouble," Carter said, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Us, cause trouble?" Justin exclaimed.

"Guys," Daniel broke in, always the voice of reason. "We're gonna get kicked out if we all don't shut up." Silence washed over our group and we finally just sat down. Carter sat on the outside and Daniel sat beside him. Justin sat on the aisle seat and Amy sat on the other side, eagerly snuggling into his arms. I sat on her other side and smiled to myself when I found myself sitting next to Daniel.

This was the first time we'd sat in the movies together with friends. True, we couldn't hold hands or snuggle like Justin and Amy but it was a start. "Oh," I heard him whisper over to Carter. "Did you know this was a romance?"

"What?" Carter exclaimed. "Crap!"


	3. NOT A CHAPTER! SORRY

Ok, I hate when authors do this too but I don't want to leave my wonderful readers in the dark.

Now, as most of you know, November starts on Tuesday. While November is a wonderful month (being born in it I would know) it also brings with it a task and endeavor, a journey if you will, for all writers. NaNoWriMo!

If you are not familiar with this literary mission...well, shame on you! It's so awesome! Look it up if you don't know about it. It's pretty cool. And I, for the first year ever, will commit to myself the task of writing a novel throughout the month of November. Yes, it sounds difficult and strenuous but I shall do it!

And with that task comes little distractions. Not that writing these fan fictions are distractions. There fun and love doing them. They keep me sane in these super long school years. However, I will not be able to make any revisions or updates until December. I know its long and I'm sorry.

I hope you're all still my loyal fans after this long process. I love you all! Thank you for the wonderful reviews and favorites! See you in a month!

Love,

Fanta


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